I just got a wonderful email from Verna at Exclusively Auckland. With her permission, I am posting it here. I also invited her to this post so she can answer any questions that we might have.
Kia Ora Karen
Thank you for your enquiry - I hope we can be of help. And congratulations on planning well in advance.
Much of what I will suggest is based on guessing you have not been to New Zealand before. You also do not tell me whether you would be interested in a full day experience or a half day experience of visiting places in and around Auckland.
We at Exclusively Auckland are exactly what the names says - that is, we focus on Auckland and it's surround areas - we do not travel to overnight tours anywhere. It also means we work exclusively on a one-to-one basis so that you do have that exclusive use of our time and do not have other 'strangers' joining the tours with you.
Nor do our vehicles have sign writing on them - they are standard vehicles which blend in with the rest of the traffic - therefore our guests do not feel like they are obvious visitors. Having unmarked vehicles also allows us to visit certain areas where commercial tour vehicles are not permitted.
Some ideas for you?
Well - should you have only a half day available (3.5 to 4 hours), it would mean the visit would be restricted to the main Auckland City area and the local surrounds. This would include:
- Auckland Central Business District
- Main Queen Street
- Albert Park
- Viaduct Basin
- The Universities
- Harbour Bridge
- Auckland Domain
- Parnell (old historic area - with interesting pockets)
- Auckland's Tamaki Drive - Mission Bay, Achillies Point (superb lookout over the Harbour)
- Cornwall Park
- One Tree Hill
- Ponsonby Road (eclectic mix of Auckland's population)
- Karangahape Road (an 'interesting' area of Auckland)
Our tours are never preset to a standard route. What happens is once we meet you we very quickly pick up on what you all are really interested in, so we quickly change and adapt to ensure you have a full 'experience' of the city - rather than 'just a tour'. And we certainly are not the 'standard' tour.
We also ensure there are ample stops - and if the opportunity rises, even stop for a sample of something uniquely Kiwi - food/snack wise.
A full day would include all of the above - then:
- Travel to some more outer areas of Auckland City
- Most popular it is out to our wild West Auckland which includes
- Waitakere Ranges (our rain forest)
- Titirangi Village (often a nice little bush surrounded suburb to stop for a coffee or lunch break)
- Arataki Centre (a strategically placed information centre that has outstanding views)
- A bush walk (dependant whether this is what you'd like)
- Our wild, black sand & remote beaches (where many of our artists find inspiration because of the natural nature)
- If it fits, we could even stop at one of the vineyards along the way
We pick you up from your accommodation and return you to where ever you wish.
Our charge is $NZ90.00 per hour (including our GST tax) - charges do not include the cost of any refreshments or meals.
All I have done above is give you some idea of the most successful places we have found our visitors have enjoyed. We do endeavour to have you experience the city, rather than just drive through on a tour thus there are stops often to get you out to see, touch, smell and mingle with where ever we are.
There certainly are other suggestions for a full day tour but have given you a base to start with.
Come back to me should you have any further questions or queries.
Cheers,
Verna
